France Smolders
The Wall Street Journal reports a decrease in the violence across France.
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National Police Chief Michel Gaudin noted a “very sharp drop” in acts of violence on the 14th straight night of unrest, with 482 vehicles burned — down from 617 the night before. A municipal police officer and a firefighter were injured.
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The nationwide peak in car burnings — a barometer of unrest — came on Sunday-to-Monday, with 1,408. The number of incidents has dropped every night since. Firefighters responded to 1,340 calls overnight Wednesday-to-Thursday, down 37% from the previous night, officials said.
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In neighboring Belgium, car burnings continued for a fifth night, with 15 vehicles torched, but the government stressed that attacks were isolated and could not be compared to widespread rioting across the border in France.